Hou Ho'omaka 'ana New Beginnings
by MacKenzie Creations
Summary: The U.S. Navy helps Steve out of a tough and sticky situation. Relationships: Steve/Cat; Danny/Rachel The others may or may not be paired up with original characters.
1. Chapter 1 Midnight Hour

_**Hou Ho'omaka 'ana/New Beginnings**_

_**By: MacKenzie Creations**_

_**and**_

_Disclaimers: Hawaii Five-0 does not belong to me. I'm not sure who they belong to, but they don't belong to me. I'm doing this for fun and to get the characters to stop talking to me. I will put them back when I'm done. Maybe a little worse for ware, but they will not be complaining. ;-)_

_Beta: Thank you to Ircam for the beta. I have changed up some things, so you might want to read this. Any mistakes that are here are mine. Icram, if you see something that I need to change or something, let me know, I'll do my best to get to it in a hurry. Thanks, girl, for your encouragement!  
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_Timeline: This story starts less than 24 hours after the end of the Season 1 finale. I wanted to have this story finished before I posted any of it but, I had to take a break and I haven't gotten through with Chapter 3 yet. However, tonight is the season premier of Season 2 so I thought I would just go ahead and post the first chapter. From what I have seen of the promos, my story goes in an entirely different direction. But hey that's ok. _

_Summary: The U.S. Navy helps Steve out of a tough and sticky situation._

_Relationships: Steve/Catherine; Danny/Rachel; Kono/OC (maybe); Chin/OC (maybe); Jenna/OC (maybe); Mary/OC (most probably but Mary/OC won't be a big part of the story)._

_Important Note: LCDR is Lieutenant Commander and LT is Lieutenant. I used the abbreviations when used as a title preceding a name only. I spelled it out all other times. If this is not correct Military format, please forgive my ignorance and let me know so that I won't do it in the future. If I use any other abrevations for the Navy titles/rank I will let you know what they are. However, if I use Navy slang, I may or may not explain that in a note. I might explain it in the text of the story. (I.e. have another character ask about it and someonelse explain it.) If I can't work it into the text, I will do a note with a translation either before or after the chapter._

_Author's Notes: Feel free to skip these notes and just read the fic, these notes just explain a few things. __ Just a little bit about your author here. When I write, I research what I write. However, for plot purposes, sometimes we author's have to take liberties and create an alternate universe to our own where certain things that wouldn't take place in the real world do happen in our fiction. I know that, for me personally, when I know the author has done research and knows the truth, but the things that are not "right" are done for plot purposes, then I can enjoy the story without getting hung up on those things that are not "right". Please forgive me on these things and enter into a world of pure fiction with me._

*H5-0*~*H5-0*~*H5-0*~*H5-0*~*H5-0*~*H5-0*~*H5-0*

_**Chapter 1: The Midnight Hour**_

Steve was waiting in the interrogation room. Chin came into the room and cut off the video, and removed the tape recorder from the table. He nodded to Steve to show him that he acknowledged his presence and in a very low voice said, "I'll be on the other side of the window."

Steve just kept his face blank. He wasn't sure what Chin was up to, but the fact that he was disabling the HPD from recording his interrogation puzzled him. He watched as his friend walked out of the room. The next person who stepped into the room was the last person he expected to see. Steve immediately stood at attention and saluted as best as he could with his cuffed hands.

"At ease, sailor," the visitor said and saluted back. "Please, sit," he instructed when Steve stood at ease. As Steve sat down, the visitor saw that Steve had a question that he wanted to ask, but wouldn't ask until he was given permission. "Lieutenant Commander, you have a very serious charge against you." The visitor leaned in and whispered, "I know the answer, but I have to ask, I have to have it on official record," he paused and leaned back and in a normal voice asked, "Did you kill Laura Hills?"

"No, Sir." _Am I being court-martialed for this? Of course I am. Killing the governor is treason._

"Did you kill the Governor?"

"No, Sir."

"If you did, I know that you would have a good reason." The visitor saw the disappointment in the prisoner's eyes. Saw his jaw strain like he wanted to say something, but he was willing himself not to say another word. "What was the reason, LCDR McGarrett?"

"I did not kill Laura Hills, the governor's personal assistant, nor did I kill the Governor." Steve answered as calmly as he could. He tried to keep all of his emotions out of his answer, but some of his frustration of not being believed by his superior came out in his voice. _Come on, Admiral, you know me, I wouldn't do that. Why are trying to trip me up?_

The visitor nodded.

"We have the evidence we need and it's being delivered to the Chief right now. Just so that you know, the only people on the other side of that window are my staff and your Five-0 team." Before the admiral could say more, there was a knock on the door. "Enter," the admiral called out.

The young officer saluted the senior officer and said, "The evidence has been delivered and the charges are being dropped now, Admiral, sir."

"Thank you, Commander Finn."

Steve was surprised at this information. "Sir?"

The Admiral smiled and said, "I told you I knew the answers already, I just needed to hear it from you."

Steve nodded.

"It will be a few minutes before he can be released, Admiral. The lieutenant will let you know when he can leave."

"Thank you, Commander. You may leave. In fact, I would like everyone on the other side of that window to leave the room. I would like to talk with Commander McGarrett in private."

"Yes, sir," Commander Finn said as he left the room.

The admiral waited until Commander Finn came back into the room and said, "It's all clear," and then stepped out of the room closing the door behind him.

"You're back on active duty effective immediately and we have a mission for you."

"Aye, Aye."

"One more thing."

"Sir?"

"Steve, when are you going to ask her?"

Steve didn't need to ask what he meant. He knew exactly what the admiral meant. "I asked her two days after I asked you for permission. But she told me to ask again in a year. She said she wasn't ready. I had planned to ask her again the next time I saw her. But now, with everything that's happened, I think I had better wait until this mission is over. Wo Fat won't stop trying to frame me and he has no qualms about going after everyone around me. I don't want her involved."

"Son, you can't let Wo Fat interfere like that," the admiral shook his head in the negative, but didn't say anymore, knowing that Steve had made up his mind and wouldn't change it.

A few seconds later, there was a knock on the door, "Enter," the admiral called out.

"Sir, the lieutenant says that they need Steve to sign some forms and then he can go."

"Thank you, Commander Finn," the admiral said as he and Steve got up and left the room.

*H5-0*~*H5-0*~*H5-0*~*H5-0*~*H5-0*~*H5-0*~*H5-0*

Danny, Chin, Jenna, and Kono were waiting right outside the door when Steve stepped out of the interrogation room.

"Kono, how?"

"Someone posted bail."

"Oh."

"Commander."

Steve, looked up at the familiar voice, surprised, "Lieutenant." He greeted just as formally as he had been addressed.

"Right this way."

"Oh for Pete's Sake! Forget the uniforms for just a moment will ya!" the admiral said exasperated. When everyone looked at him in confusion, he looked at Steve and the lieutenant and said, "That's an order!"

A smile appeared on both of their faces, and the lieutenant was soon in Steve's arms, "I missed you, Steve."

"I missed you, too, Cat," he said and gave a chaste kiss on her cheek.

As the embrace ended, an IA officer came up to the group and said, "Officer Kalakaua, the charges against you have been dropped. Seems as though the witness who came forward has dementia and isn't reliable. Sorry for any incontinence."

"Not a problem. You were just doing your job."

"Thank you, LT Rollins for the information you provided to us on this case."

Catherine looked at the IA officer and then turned her attention to the admiral, "I think we better get to briefing, sir."

"Of course, Lieutenant."

*H5-0*~*H5-0*~*H5-0*~*H5-0*~*H5-0*~*H5-0*~*H5-0*

The admiral offered every one a ride in his limo to Steve's house. Once they got there, the admiral's staff checked the whole house for bugs. They informed the admiral that they found none. The admiral then asked for everyone's attention.

"Commander, I told you that you were back on active duty and that I had a mission for you."

"Yes, sir."

"I know that is unorthodox for the Navy, but you will be working with civilians on this one. However, I need you to pick two SEALs to add to your team."

"Aye, Aye."

The admiral looked at Catherine and then continued, "Lieutenant Commander, Admiral Brooks authorized your involvement with Governor Jameson's Task Force with an ulterior motive. He knew that if you worked closely with the governor, then you would uncover any corruption within the office. Even if you weren't looking for it. It was safer for you and your team if you didn't know about the suspected corruption.

"The Navy has been tracking Wo Fat for the past few years. We suspected that the governor was working for him, but we had no proof. That is until you confronted her.

"Since we suspected that she was working for Wo Fat, we have been keeping an eye on her. We couldn't do surveillance on her 24/7, so it was just a hit and miss. LT Rollins was ordered, by me, to look in on the governor at the time you were confronting her. She recorded everything and called me immediately.

"We didn't want to use the video that we recorded because it shows you holding a gun on the governor and a case could be made of intent to kill."

When the admiral paused, Steve asked, "Permission to speak freely, sir."

"Permission granted."

"Did you know about the connection between Wo Fat, the governor, and my parents' murders, sir?"

"What? No, I promise you, Steve, if I had known that there was a possible connection to Wo Fat and your parents' murders, I would have told you. I thought that your mother's murder was unrelated to your father's murder and his murder had to do with your mission," the admiral was genuinely confused.

"I just found out myself, sir. I went to the governor to see what she knew. I wanted to know if she gave the order, or what information she had on them."

"Now it makes since." When everyone looked at Catherine she explained, "We couldn't understand why you were accusing her of your parents' murders when she just confessed to Laura Hill's murder. We didn't know the relation. Now we do. Wo Fat is the connection. I'm sorry, Steve, if I had known, I would have told you."

"Why am I being told this now? What does this have to do with my mission?"

"I'm temporary taking over Five-0. You will report to me, not the governor. Five-0 will investigate and deal with all corruption in the Hawaiian government. Starting with the Governor's office, the HPD, and IA. Of course they will know nothing of this. They will see that Five-0 is operating as it has in the past. The two additional SEALs that I want you to recruit for this mission will be partnered up with LT Kelly and Officer Kalakaua. That way, each civilian will have a Navy partner."

"What about Agent Kaye?"

"LT Rollins will be her partner," the admiral said with a gleam in his eye.

Steve opened his mouth to say something and then shut it and closed his eyes. When he opened them, he calmly asked, "Permission to speak freely."

"Permission denied," the admiral said.

"Now on the cases that are dealing with local crime, the civilians will report to Detective Williams and he will report directly to the governor. Navy personnel will report to you, and you will report to me."

"So, LT Rollins will be under my command, sir?"

"In a matter of speaking, yes."

Steve was liking this mission less and less. "For how long?"

"Until we are certain that the Hawaiian government is no longer corrupt."

Steve nodded but didn't say anything. He couldn't even look at Catherine. He just looked at the admiral, not understanding why he was putting Catherine under his command. He knew what this would mean. He wouldn't be able to see Catherine romantically without the possibility of a court-martial.

"I trust that you can be objective about this, LCDR McGarrett."

"Aye, Aye," Steve replied. He wasn't happy about it and everyone in the room knew it.

"Good. LT Rollins still has a month at her current post, and she will help you from there as much as she can, but she won't be officially under your command until then."

Steve nodded that he understood.

"Now, to the public this will be seen as a pilot program. A joint effort between the Navy and Civilian law enforcement to share information on international criminals and terrorists. And when needed, to help fight local crime. Everyone will know that any and all of the Navy personnel has the possibility to be called away on another mission for the Navy at any time. And there will be a second team in place for that occasion. However, I will try not to call more than two of you up at the same time. I need you to choose and train the second team, Lieutenant Commander."

"Aye, Aye."

"You say that as if you already know the men you want."

"Aye."

"Who are they? I will have them called up immediately."

"LCDR Aaron Aswell will be Kono's partner and LT Paul Banks will be Chin's partner. For the second team, LCDR James Perkins will be in my position if I'm not there, LCDR Dane McGee will take LCDR Aswell's place if he's not there, and LT Adrian Spence will take LT Bank's place and LT Erica Etheridge to take LT Rollins' place."

The Admiral wrote the names down and then handed the paper to Catherine and said, "Hand this to LT Watson and have him draw up the orders and send them to Coronado immediately."

"Aye, Aye," Catherine responded and did exactly what was expected of her.

"Sir, I have a question," Danny said.

"Yes, Detective Williams what is it?"

"You said in the local criminal cases, we, civilians as you called us, were to report to the governor. What if we find out about any corruption within the governor's office, HPD, or IA? Who do we report to then?"

"Officially, you just tell the rest of the Five-0 team. Unofficially, if you want you can come straight to me. Which ever you feel most comfortable with, Detective Williams."

Danny nodded as his phone rang. He looked down and saw it was Rachel. "I'm sorry, I have to take this." He walked out of the room and answered his phone, "I'm so sorry, Rachel. I…."

"I know, Danny. Grace and I just saw the news here at LAX. What is going on?"

"The charges have been dropped. Thanks to the Navy. But, it doesn't look like I'll be able to make it to Jersey anytime soon. There is still a lot to do here to wrap this up."

"Danny, Grace, and I are coming back to you. You need to be there, we need you, and you need us. I booked us on the return flight to Hawaii and then called you."

"Rachel, I'm not sure that this is a safe place for you and Grace right now. The person that framed Steve would have no problem going after any loved ones we may have."

"Danny, that's a chance that a police officer's family takes. We're coming home to you."

"I thought you said that Hawaii was Stan's home, not yours."

Rachel smiled and looked at Grace and repeated what Grace had told her just a few minutes ago, "I was wrong. Home is wherever you are, Danny."

Danny smiled, "I'll pick you up at the airport, and if I can't be there, I will have someone there."

"Ok. Hang on, Grace wants to say something."

"Danno! Is Uncle Steve all right? I saw him go to jail on the TV."

"Uncle Steve is just fine, Monkey. He's out of jail now."

"I want to talk to him."

"Ok hold on." Danny walked in the room where Steve and the others were, "Steve, Gracie wants to talk to you."

"Excuse me." Steve said, and took the phone from his partner. "Grace."

"Uncle Steve! Is it really you? Danno said that you were out of jail. How did you get out? I know you didn't do it! You would never kill anybody. You protect people like Danno does."

Steve smiled at the innocence of an eight year old. "I got out jail because the evidence proved that I didn't do it. I was only there for a few hours, Grace."

"I can't wait to see you. I love you, Uncle Steve."

Steve was stunned. Grace had never said anything like that before and he didn't know what the right thing to say was. He knew that no one else in the room heard anything that Grace said, but he also knew that he loved the little girl like he would he would love any child that his sister would have. "I love you, too, Grace." He quickly handed the phone back to Danny. As Danny left the room to say good bye to his daughter he turned around to see the Admiral's face in shock.

"Who's Grace and how do you know that you can trust her?"

"Grace is Danny's eight year old daughter and we don't tell her anything other than we're policemen."

"Ok. Good. Keep it that way. It's best."

"What does his wife know?"

"Ex-wife."

"Well not so ex now, but all she knows is that we're policemen. She knows that I can't talk about my cases."

"May I ask a question, sir?"

"What is it Lieutenant Commander?"

"How did you get the evidence that I didn't kill the governor if you didn't use the video?"

"Lieutenant, you want to answer that question?"

"The ballistic reports. When I called the admiral, he had the ballistic reports done quickly and then the taser marks on your neck proved that there was third person in the room. Especially, when they didn't find a taser in the room. The ballistic report came back saying that there wasn't enough gun powder residue on the gloves for you to have pulled the trigger. The small amount that was on the gloves came from the gun being placed in your hand after it was fired. HPD had no choice but to drop the charges against you for the murder of the governor.

"On the flight here, I was able to get into the HPD mainframe and I found the prints that they said were yours. While it was very close to the ones found in the Navy Records, you could tell they had been digitally altered. When I showed the chief, he had no choice but to drop those charges as well, since that was their sole reason for arresting you in that case."

"Thank you, for helping me."

Catherine smiled, "Not a problem, sailor."

Steve smiled at her. He wondered how he was going to work so closely with her and yet not be able to hold her anymore. He might as well be back in jail on two murder charges and treason!

The admiral looked at the two of them with a wistful face. He saw the love between the two. And he understood why the Lieutenant Commander was upset at having the Lieutenant under his command. He didn't have all the facts. Right now all he knew was that if he was involved romantically with a subordinate, it was a cause for court-martial. But the admiral hoped that everything would work out between them. The admiral also knew that Steve was upset with Catherine being placed in the sights of Wo Fat. But he hoped that keeping her aboard the Enterprise would minimize that threat. Wait a minute, there was thought.

"Lieutenant Commander, I just thought of something. What if for the next month you worked off of the Enterprise to catch Wo Fat?"

"Sir?"

"Well, the safest place would probably be aboard the Enterprise. Wo Fat couldn't touch you there. But what about Danny, Chin, Kono, and Jenna? They would still be in danger." The admiral thought about it for a minute. "They would go undercover. Only those in this room would know that they weren't Navy officers. I would have them aboard the Enterprise as well. Agent Kaye already has the security clearance to be in Navy Intelligence. And I've checked out your other team members and authorized their security clearance to work on this mission. Their clearance isn't as high as yours or Lieutenant Rollins' but it's high enough to do anything aboard the Enterprise."

"What about Rachel and Grace? Rachel's pregnant and Grace is just eight. I couldn't leave them."

"They can stay with me. My home is right off base. Wo Fat won't be able to get to them."

"But I won't be able to see them, will I?"

"Not if you're undercover as a sailor."

"But it's the safest place for them?"

"Safest place on the islands," the admiral promised.

"I have to talk with Rachel about it first."

"I understand. Does anyone else have to talk to a loved one?"

They all shook their heads no.

"I'm in," Kono said.

"I'm in," Chin agreed.

"I'm in," Jenna smiled.

"Great. If Danny can't go undercover with you all, then he and his family can live with me until we get Wo Fat."

Steve and Catherine looked at him, and he smiled, "The house is quiet with Sid at school. It'll be good to have a little child running around again."

Catherine grinned, "I never understood why you live in that big house."

The smile disappeared from the admiral's face, "It was your mother's dream house if we ever got stationed at Perl, Katie. When I got transferred here, I had to build it. "

"But, Daddy, she died 14 years before you ever got stationed here."

"I did it in memory of her, Katie."

Catherine nodded her head finally understanding.

*H5-0*~*H5-0*~*H5-0*~*H5-0*~*H5-0*~*H5-0*~*H5-0*

Danny and the Admiral arrived at the airport to pick up Rachel and Grace just a few minutes before the plane touched down. When Rachel and Grace saw Danny, Grace ran to him, "Danno!"

"Did you have fun on your plane ride?"

Grace gave her father a look that told him that he was stupid for asking her that question.

Rachel wasn't far behind Grace and gave Danny a hug. "Danny."

"Oh Rach, I'm glad you're here. I'm worried for your safety, but I'm glad that you're here. There are a few things that I need to talk to you about, though."

When the embrace ended, Danny, introduced his family to the Admiral, "This is Vice Admiral Rollins. He will be giving us a ride. Admiral, this is Rachel and my daughter Grace."

Once they were in the limo with the privacy window up, the admiral started to explain, "Detective Williams is worried about your safety. I have offered to let you stay with me, until other arrangements can be made. However, he wanted to discuss it with you first. I have also offered Detective Williams an undercover mission, however, you will not be able to go with him. Instead if you so choose, you will be living with me for your protection."

"Danny, does this have something to do with Steve's arrest?"

"I cannot confirm nor deny that, Rachel," Danny said.

Rachel nodded her head. "What do you think is best for Grace?"

"What I think is best for Grace is not what I want. What I want is to be with you both. But what is best for Grace is that I do this mission and for both of you to stay with the Admiral until it's safe." He looked into Rachel's eyes and saw the unasked question, "Steve trusts him, Rachel. But, if you don't want to me to this, then we can go back to Jersey right now and never come back."

"But if we do that, you will be looking over your shoulder all the time and you will feel guilty for deserting your partner when he needs you the most." Rachel looked down and back up at Danny before she said, "We will do what is best for Grace." _And our baby._ "If that means being away from you for a while, then Grace and I can be strong, can't we, baby?"

Grace smiled up at her mother and nodded.

"I have to be honest with you, it might be all summer. This mission might not be just a few days," the admiral said.

"Is this what it's like being in the military?"

"Yes."

Rachel nodded, "I can do it. I can do anything for the safety of my family."

"Danny? Are you going?"

Danny's eyes never left Rachel's as he said, "I'm going."

"I'll have the transport pick you up at my place in the morning."

They rode in silence the rest of the way from the airport to the admiral's home.

*H5-0*~*H5-0*~*H5-0*~*H5-0*~*H5-0*~*H5-0*~*H5-0*

"It's not decorated much, but it's home," the admiral said as he showed his guests in.

"This room is the guest room, Rachel you can take it. Grace, this room over here, right across from your mommy's is my daughter's room. I think you might like it."

"What's your daughter's name?" Grace asked.

"Well I have two daughters. This is Catherine's room. The room next to it, is Angel's room and the room down the hall by my room is Sidney's room, my son."

"Won't Catherine be mad that I'm in her room?"

The admiral smiled, "No, she won't be mad. My children are all grown up and I doubt that Catherine will be visiting while you're here."

"I won't get to meet her?" Grace asked disappointed.

"Well, you might meet her in the morning. She's in the Navy and she's staying with a friend of hers tonight. She has to go back to her ship in the morning and will be here to pick up your daddy."

Grace smiled, "Good."

*H5-0*~*H5-0*~*H5-0*~*H5-0*~*H5-0*~*H5-0*~*H5-0*

Steve and Catherine were woken up by someone coming in the front door. They both grabbed their side arms and walked cautiously down the stairs. As the intruder disabled the alarm system, they stood ready to defend themselves. When the intruder turned the light on and turned around, she was met with two people aiming pistols at her. She froze wide eyed.

"Mary?" Cat asked.

"Catherine? What? Steve? What? How? I thought you were in jail."

"I was cleared of the charges. What are you doing back here?"

"Like I said, I thought you were in jail. I came to see if there was anything I could do to help."

"I was framed, Mary. You need to go back. It's not safe for you here. They tried to get you once. They'll do it again. It's the same people, Mary. Please for my peace of mind, go back to the mainland!" Steve urged.

"We'll talk about it in the morning, Steve. I had a long flight and I'm tired."

"I'm being shipped out in the morning."

Mary looked at her older brother with disappointment. "Oh. I thought you couldn't leave town."

"All charges are dropped. They know I was being set up and they're looking for the people who set me up. I'm not a suspect and I can leave town any time I want to. But this isn't a want to thing. I have orders."

"Ok."

"Listen, Mary, if you want to stay, fine, just not here. It's not safe for you to be here. And keep it low key. If they know that you're Steve's sister, they will try to get to you again," Catherine suggested.

"Stay the night, it's too late to go somewhere else. Hell, it's almost time for us to get ready to go."

"Catherine's going with you?"

"I've got get back to the Big E."

"Oh."

"I'll call you when I can to let you know I'm alright," Steve said.

"And since you won't be here, and this is my house too, you can't tell me that I can't stay here."

"No, I can't. But I can tell you …"

"It's not safe," they both said together.

"Just be careful."

"Always am."

Catherine smiled at the brother and sister as they stared down each other. "Come on, Steve, we need to get ready, the transport will be here soon."

*H5-0*~*H5-0*~*H5-0*~*H5-0*~*H5-0*~*H5-0*~*H5-0*

Steve and Catherine came back downstairs fully dressed in uniform and with their bags in one hand. They set their bags down by the front door and Steve went to help Mary settle in. He knew that she would not be leaving anytime soon. "If you're going to stay here, at least let me call Alex and have him come stay with you."

Mary raised her eyebrow, "I don't need a babysitter."

"Alex isn't a babysitter. He's a SEAL."

"Oh."

"I know you can take care of yourself, but I would feel better knowing that there was someone else here that could help you out if you get in a tight spot. I know that he will keep you safe, Mary, and that's the most important thing right now."

"Fine. Call Alex and ask him if he could come stay while you're out playing with the Navy."

"Thank you."

"Why do I get the feeling that I may not see you again, Steve?"

"There's always that chance when I go on a mission, Mary. You know that."

"But this time it seems real."

"I'm going to do my best to come home, Mary."

Mary nodded when they heard a helicopter outside. Steve gave his sister a hug and started to leave. There was knock on the door and a Lieutenant Commander informed Steve, "We have orders, Commander."

Steve, nodded, "Let's go, Aswell. The Lieutenant will be hitching a ride with us."

LCDR Aswell nodded as Catherine saluted him and he saluted back.

*H5-0*~*H5-0*~*H5-0*~*H5-0*~*H5-0*~*H5-0*~*H5-0*

When the transport got to the Admiral's house, Steve and Catherine got out and went inside. "Daddy," Catherine called out.

"In here, Katie," the admiral called out from his office. "Here is the documentation that the Civilian Five-0 team members need. I couldn't get what I needed to send them under cover, so I'm putting them on the Enterprise under the 'Distinguished Visitor Program'. However, while they are onboard they will be training with their partners."

"Are you going to come aboard with us?"

"No, not this time, Katie. I may come see you in a few days or so, but right now, I'm hosting Rachel and Grace." He didn't want to say that he was trying to get passes for Rachel and Grace to see Danny every once and a while since they won't be undercover. He didn't want to get everyone's hopes up in case he failed.

Just then, Steve walked in carrying Grace, "Cat, I have someone here that I want you to meet. This is Grace, Danny's daughter."

"Hello, Grace. I'm Catherine."

"Hi," Grace said. "The admiral said I could stay in your room. I hope you're not mad."

Catherine smiled, "I'm glad that you're staying in my room. Come on, I need to show you something."

Steve put Grace down and the two girls went upstairs. After they were out of hearing range, the admiral said, "Ask again and soon."

Steve nodded then smiled, "Is that an order?"

The admiral smiled back and said, "Yes."

They both laughed knowing that this was something that couldn't be ordered. Steve had already planned on doing what the admiral "ordered" this weekend.

*H5-0*~*H5-0*~*H5-0*~*H5-0*~*H5-0*~*H5-0*~*H5-0*

"Your room is so pretty," Grace said. The walls had wall paper of the American Flag, the Navy Cross with different Navy ships, and the ocean. These pictures were so light that they were like a colored shadow repeated over and over all over the wall. In one corner stood an American Flag and in another stood the Navy Flag. Catherine went to her closet and took a huge stuffed blue and white dolphin off the top shelf. She then turned around and said, "Grace, this is Star. I got her when I was five years old. Star has a sister that is out in the ocean. And every time, my daddy would ship out, I would sleep with star. I would tell star everything that I wanted to tell my daddy. And somehow I just knew that Star's sister was looking out for my daddy and protecting his ship."

"Do you think that Star's sister is still alive?"

"I know that she is, because I see her from time to time," Catherine said.

"Do you think that she will look after my daddy?"

"Well why don't you ask her?"

"What's her sister's name?"

"Stella Maris and she's a very special dolphin who can change shapes when she needs to. We call her Stella for short."

Grace looked at the dolphin in her arms and then asked, "Star, will Stella look after my daddy while he's away?"

Grace looked back at Catherine and Catherine asked, "What answer immediately came to mind when you asked that question?"

"Yes."

"Then Stella will find Danny wherever he is, protect him and make sure he gets back home ok. And you can sleep with Star while you're here."

Grace's eyes got big, "Really?"

Catherine smiled and nodded her head.

Steve looked on touched by the scene that he was witnessing. He hated to break it up, but, "Cat, it's time to go."

Catherine looked to Steve and nodded.

"Catherine! Wait!" Grace almost yelled. When Catherine and Steve turned around she asked, "Does Stella have any brothers or sisters that can look after you and Uncle Steve?"

Catherine smiled and said, "Stella is a very special. She can look after all American sailors at the same time." She winked and turned around and walked ahead of Steve.

In the hallway, Steve said, "That was nice of you."

"Yeah, well Grace needs Star more than I do, and she's too big to bring with…"

She was cut off by Steve's lips on hers. The kiss was interrupted by a small gasp.

"Are you Uncle Steve's girlfriend?"

The couple laughed and Steve said, "Yes, Grace, Cat is my girlfriend."

Grace just grinned and ran off to tell her father goodbye.

*H5-0*~*H5-0*~*H5-0*~*H5-0*~*H5-0*~*H5-0*~*H5-0*

_(Yet anther rather long blabbing) Author's Notes__: I have taken some creative license with certain things. The Five-0 team is purely fictional and it's methods are fictional as well. In a court of law, the criminals could get off on a technicality because of the way that the members of the Five-0 team conduct themselves at times. So with this in mind, I added something else that would never be approved. I know that if the military ever tried to share the responsibility of catching domestic criminals with the police force (like I have written it in this fic), or having the military to keep surveillance on a governor, it would cause an uproar, and there is real concern for it being abused. However, I have done my research and I am doing this for plot purposes only and in my fic there will be no abuse on the side that I have added, but it will be used as an added "Check and Balance". Please know that I know that this part is pure fiction for the U.S.A. justice system._

_The next chapter we will be aboard the USS Enterprise AKA the Big E. While I have done extensive research for this, there are some things I had to take creative license on for subplot purposes. _

_Matter of fact when I was researching the Navy is when I had to stop because it was brining up questions I don't think I'll ever have the answers to. It was just too close to the 17__th__ anniversary of the death of my daddy (July 7) – just regrets of not asking the questions before he died. His service in the Navy ended before I was even born. (I put the date and the fact that it's been 17 years because it's not a recent thing. But I'm ready to get back to this story now. I have moved on and it's not painful anymore. Yes, I miss him. I was 21 when he died. But I'm thrilled that he got to walk me down the isle and give me away at my wedding. It's just the happy memories now, but when doing the research for this story, I came across certain things that I would love to ask my daddy that I can't ask anymore and this was what was painful. I had to take a break or I would have gone into a depression that would have been hard to come out of. I could see it happing and I have two children (ages 10 and 13) to take care of and I couldn't allow the depression to set in, so I did the only thing I knew to do – back off for a couple of months. I just know now that I can't research the Navy or my daddy's history during the month of July. Or maybe the whole summer. LOL Sorry my sob story has gotten long._

_Please forgive me and enter into a world of pure fiction on these things. _

_I have come across some things in my research about sailors and I just had to add them in. So, there are some "fun" things that happen aboard the Enterprise that are true to form. (Chapter 3) :-)_

_Game: Who can tell me where the shout out(s) to Buffy the Vampire Slayer is? (I may or may not have a little game like this with every chapter.) _


	2. Chapter 2 The Enterprise

_**Hou Ho'omaka 'ana/New Beginnings**_

_**By: MacKenzie Creations**_

_Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait. I've gotten a job and my life got real busy. I will try to do better. And always thanks to my beta _Ircam_. She had this ready for me way back in Oct. I held on to it until I was satisfied. I have Chapter 3 and will be going over it soon to see if I think it's ready to post. I'm a perfectionist; everything has to be just right before I post it. LOL Again sorry for being so slow with the update. Hopefully, the next chapter will be quicker. :-)  
><em>

_This is quite possibly the shortest chapter I have ever written. I don't think I have one shorter than this. I might have one that is just 10 or 11 pages, in another story, but I don't think so. Anyway, I kind of got writer's block and wanted to jump ahead. So, I had to put this chapter to bed. So here it is. Again, even with the research I did, I believe everything is plausible, but it would never happen like this. It's just a far fetched idea for plot purposes. I doubt very seriously that the Navy would keep two or three classmates from the Academy together for such a long time. _

_I had to re-write and add some things in so this chapter starts off rough. Sorry about that._

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 2: The Enterprise<strong>_

On the way to the Enterprise, Chin and Kono told Steve and the others that they had found Jenna dead in her hotel room. It had looked as if she had put up a fight and they had called HPD. There was also a note to Steve which Kono took a picture of. The note read:

_Stop looking for me or I will kill everyone close to you._

* * *

><p>When Catherine saw the note, she had a flashback to a different time and place.<p>

"_Break up with him or I will kill him, your father, and Sid. I will rape and kill Angel_

_ and Erica. I mean it. You're mine and I will not allow you to be with anyone else!"_

"_Fine. I'll break up with him, but I'll never be yours. I will remain faithful to him! I will never love you! I will never_

_ be with you! I will never get back together with you! I will never marry you! I don't care what was said_

_ when we were thirteen! You will never be my husband!"_

"_You whore!"_

* * *

><p>"Chin, I don't understand why you didn't just call me," Steve's voice brought Catherine back to the present.<p>

"We tried, but it went straight to voice mail," Chin replied.

Steve checked his phone, saw it was turned off, and thought, _Huh, wonder how that happened. _ "Damn the battery is dead. Why didn't you call Danny?"

"I turned my phone off last night when we got to the admiral's house. I didn't want my last few hours with Grace and Rachel to be interrupted. The admiral said that if you needed me, you could call him on either his land line or his cell."

"And Kono and I don't have that number. We also didn't have Catherine's number."

"It doesn't feel right; being here without her. I mean shouldn't we be looking for Wo Fat instead of running away? The note clearly implicates that it was him. Who else are we looking for? What about her funeral?" Kono asked.

"We are going to be looking for him with the equipment on the Enterprise," Catherine said. "So we will be tracking down her killer."

"It's what she would have wanted," Steve said. "Wo Fat killed her fiancé and she wanted him caught. She wouldn't have wanted us to stop looking for him because of her death. We can morn for her after we catch Wo Fat."

Catherine knew that Steve may look like the murder of one of his teammates didn't bother him, but in reality, it was tearing him up inside. He was putting on a strong front for his team and to was forcing himself to push through to get the job done. If he could have, he would have skipped on his father's funeral to get the one who murdered him, however, he was the only family that could arrange the funeral, so he had to take time out to bury his father. Steve was afraid that he would get caught up in a paralyzing depression due the death of family and/or friends. He pushed himself and those around him to keep going so that they wouldn't get paralyzed by their mourning.

"Can I use your phone?" Steve looked at Catherine. She just handed it to him. He dialed a number and waited for the person on the other end to answer. "This is LCDR Steve McGarrett … So HPD has contacted you already? …. Yeah, well you knew her better than I did, could you … Thanks … no we won't be there. We will be tracking down her murderer. I think that's what she would have wanted … Thanks." He handed the phone back to Catherine. When he saw the puzzled looks of the others, he explained, "Jenna gave me one of her friend's numbers to contact in case anything happened. Her friend said that she was expecting my call. She will take care of the arrangements and she agreed that Jenna would have wanted us looking for Wo Fat rather than be at her funeral. So, that's what we are going to do. If you wanted to attend the funeral, I can't get you there in person, but I can get you the next best thing. Her friend is going to help us out by contacting us by Skype when the funeral starts."

Danny, Kono, and Chin nodded their heads in acceptance.

Catherine called her father and explained to him what had happened to Jenna. When she hung up with her father, she looked at Steve and Danny said, "Is there anyone else that you know that could help out with intelligence? The admiral would rather a civilian take Jenna's place since she was a civilian. But if you don't know of a civilian, then we will replace her with Navy personnel."

"I don't know anybody. Do you, Chin, Kono?" Danny asked.

They both shook their heads no. "I'll think on it. When I come up with a name, I'll let the admiral know. I don't know any civilian, but there are plenty of Navy Intelligence personnel to choose from. I just have to decide who would be good for the team."

* * *

><p>When the transport landed on the deck of the USS Enterprise, Catherine and the SEALs took the lead and the civilians followed them. Once they were a safe distance from the flight deck, the captain came up to them, "It's good to have your SEAL team back with us, LCDR McGarrett."<p>

"Thank you, Captain," Steve saluted.

"I've got the two men set up with your team and the two ladies are with LT Rollins."

"Thank you, Sir. But there is just one lady," Steve replied sadly.

"Alright. If there is anything that my crew can do to help you with your mission, just let us know."

"Thank you, Captain. LT Rollins has the information that's needed, sir."

"I trust you can show your guests to their quarters."

"Aye, Aye, sir."

As they were walking down the passageway, Danny asked, "Why is it that when any Navy personnel are around, you go all medieval speak on us? Why can't you just say, 'Yes, Sir'?"

Steve and the SEAL team just gave Danny a strange look, but Catherine said, "Aye, means Yes, I understand. Aye, Aye, means Yes, I heard the order, I understand the order, and I intend to obey the order. And that's just how we are to respond."

"Danny, you're aboard a Navy ship. Don't ask questions on why we talk the way we do alright?" Steve commented.

* * *

><p>After the Five-0 team put their stuff in their quarters, they met with the Captain. "I want you to know that I will not treat you any different than I treat my sailors. I expect all of you to stay with the SEAL team or with LT Rollins. You will train when they train, you will work when and where they work. Unless you already know about it, anything you might see aboard this ship will be considered Top Secret understand? Especially, what you see while working with LT Rollins."<p>

The civilians all nodded their heads. The admiral had already talked with them about the need for confidentiality.

"I need to speak with LCDR McGarrett and LT Rollins, the rest of you are dismissed."

As the rest of the team left the captain's quarters, the captain asked, "Ever, been across the line?"

Steve pulled out a laminated card from his wallet and showed it to the captain. Catherine also showed her Shellback card to the captain.

"Admiral Rollins will be here for the Crossing the Line Ceremony. He told me that you, LCDR McGarrett know Detective Williams' wife and daughter. Do you think they should be allowed aboard during the ceremony?"

Steve smiled, "I think so. I think that his daughter might want to go through it with her father. I'm sure that every one can go easy on her and tone it down for an eight year old. Rachel is pregnant so, if she goes through it, they should be just as gentle with her as with Grace."

"I think you're right and I think that the Shellbacks would enjoy initiating a child. But to be on the safe side, I'll send out a memo to all shellbacks. The detective won't know that his wife and daughter will be with us until the admiral gets here.

"Now, that we have that out of the way, just what kind of training will you be doing?"

"We will be training the Five-0 team on how to work the intelligence equipment. The admiral will be installing the same equipment we have here at the Five-0 headquarters, so they will need to know not only _how_ to use it, but what they _cannot_ use it for." Catherine said as she looked at her captain. Even though she wanted to look at Steve to remind him of his unauthorized requests, she knew if she did, they both could be in trouble.

"I will also be training my SEALs on the equipment and we will also put the Five -0 civilians through the same PT that we go through. We will be tracking down Wo Fat and using the intelligence equipment to get any evidence we can to put him in jail, as per our orders, Sir." Steve handed the captain his orders from Admiral Rollins.

* * *

><p>That night in Catherine and Erica's room, Kono asked, "I know this is a personal question so you don't have to answer, but how did you and Steve meet?"<p>

Catherine smiled, "We went to the academy together and we were in the same company. He was a year ahead of me. He became my best friend while we were there."

"So what, it was love at first sight?" Kono questioned.

"No. Well, I guess, but I didn't know it. You see my high school boyfriend followed me to Annapolis. I always wanted to be a Naval officer and work in Intelligence. Simon tried to talk me out of it. And when he couldn't, he decided he would join the Navy with me. Luckily, he couldn't get into the Academy. In high school he had a job at a large hotel chain, and he told me that they transferred him there. I was naive to believe him."

"What happened between the two of you?" Kono was curious.

"Well, when he saw how close Steve and I were becoming, he became jealous. And to make matters worse, Steve was tutoring me in Chemistry. I sucked at Chemistry. Anyway, after I got an A on a really important Chem test, I first went to tell Steve, since he was the one who helped me. Then we both went to go tell another friend of mine who was also helping me study for the test. When we got to her room, I found Simon having sex with one of her room mates. I was pissed and hurt. I didn't love him and I was looking for a way to break up with him, but I was still hurt that he had betrayed me like that.

"Steve immediately grabbed me and took me out of there. He asked me if ice cream was in order. He had heard that this kind of thing required ice cream. He was trying so hard to be the best friend that I needed. So we went out for ice cream and he sat there and listened to me cry and rant and rave about Simon and our whole relationship. Needless to say, I broke up with Simon. Never gave him another chance. I dated several different men after that. One was even a civilian. But none of them worked out for very long. Every time I would get leave, I would go see Steve first. Every time he would get leave he would come see me first. We were both were sticking to best friends only and he dated more girls than I could keep up with. His longest relationship was with one of my roommates, Candy. She didn't care that he wanted to see me before he saw her. Besides, we lived together and so when he came to see me, he saw her at the same time."

"What happened between Candy and Steve?" Kono was intrigued.

Catherine's eyes got dark and all she said was, "She shattered his heart. I'm not sure if he's even over it now. He may never get over it."

"What did she do?" Kono asked.

Catherine looked and Erica's eyes met and all Catherine would say was, "It's not my place to tell."

Kono noticed this and asked, "You know?"

"Well, all three of us were roommates. So, yeah, I know."

"Still are roommates thanks to the Navy; at least when we're on base," Catherine said.

"You know she's one of the best in intelligence," Erica responded.

"Steve can't even stand to be in the same room as her now, let alone look at her. He can't work with her. He won't choose her. He won't even consider her." Catherine was sure.

"Does he still love her?" Kono asked.

"They never really loved each other romantically," Erica explained. "They both knew that neither was Mr. or Mrs. Right, but just Mr./Mrs. Right Now or right then." Erica crunched up her nose and forehead thinking about that.

"They cared for each other and were attracted to each other, and they both were faithful to each other, but, they didn't really love each other. Candy says that she doesn't have the ability to love selflessly," Catherine explained.

"Do you believe her?" Kono asked.

"Yes," the two navy officers said.

"So how did you and Steve get together?" Kono couldn't wait to find out.

Catherine smiled, "Well it was when Candy and Steve broke up. He came to me and well as I was trying my best to comfort him, we just connected on a different level you know?"

"She kissed him and he told her no, not like that. He cared for her too much. So, he put in for a transfer from intelligence to the SEALs. They waited until he finished BUD/s, the SEAL training program, and transferred to Coronado. On her next leave, they made dinner reservations and started to 'officially date'," Erica smiled.

* * *

><p>Two days later, they watched Jenna's funeral services over Skype courtesy of her friend back in Hawaii.<p>

Over the next few days, Danny, Chin, and Kono were sent to find non-existent items hidden by several different sailors for various different reasons. The result of these "jokes" was that they learned the layout of the ship like the back of their hand in just a matter of days. The SEALs already knew the layout of the Enterprise because they had been aboard the ship several times before. This ship had brought them to several of their missions and her crew had helped them before with intelligence, while they were on their missions.

The Five-0 civilians also got familiar with the equipment that the Navy would be providing for their headquarters back in Hawaii. Even though the SEALs and the Five-0 teams were learning the equipment quickly, they did not find any evidence about Wo Fat that would hold up in court.

* * *

><p><em>Author's Note: After watching the premier, (BTW, I never trusted Jenna! It was just too obvious to me that she planted some type of tracking device on the laptop when she put <strong>gum<strong> on it! How adolescent was that? I mean really? Putting gum on something like she's getting caught with gum in class and she's trying to hide it?) I had to go back and write Jenna out. I know it doesn't make much since that they could continue on like she never existed, but despite my personal feelings toward her, I was trying to do right by her and make her a team player. But Jenna's dirty and I just can't have her seeing and learning the Navy Intelligence equipment. Besides, she was giving me problems in the next chapter. So killing her off was really better. I just kept forgetting about her! LOL_


	3. Chapter 3 Pollywog? Shellback?

**Hou Ho'omaka 'ana/New Beginnings**

**By: MacKenzie Creations**

_A/N: Rules were copied and pasted from the USS Enterprise SHUTTLE from June 21, 2011. Here is one of the "fun" things that I found out in my research. I hope you enjoy this. I'm pretty sure that I don't have the "details" right. Although, some of it I found on You Tube. Do a search on You Tube for Crossing the Line or Wog or Shellback, and you will see some ceremonies. The fact is each ceremony is different. The ceremony has changed dramatically since the mid 90's due to hazing rules/laws. In other words, some crews were taking it way too far and they had to water it down. I found in my research that the US President during WWII went through this and he told the crew not to treat him any differently. And this was before they toned down the ceremony where you could be keel hauled. During Crossing the Line, officer/enlisted it doesn't matter, everyone who hasn't been over the line by sea, goes through everything equally. There are a couple other things like this, but I don't want them on the Enterprise long enough to go through the Arctic Circle to become a Blue Nose. Although Steve is a SEAL and is a card carrying Blue Nose. LOL But that was before the start of Hawaii Five-0 and only in my imagination. In that ceremony the sailors are supposed to be on deck in only their underwear as they cross over into the Arctic Circle. So of course I imagine Steve has done that! ;-) Anyway on with the chapter! This is another short chapter._

_As always, thank you to _Ircam_ for the beta job!  
><em>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3: Pollywog? Shellback?<strong>

A few days later, the admiral, Rachel, and Grace was welcomed aboard the USS Enterprise. When Grace saw Danny, she ran to her father and leapt into his arms. "Danno! I missed you!"

"I missed you too, Monkey."

As they were walking to put Rachel and Grace's things in Catherine's room, Danny commented, "Just don't pay any body any attention if they call you a slimy pollywog. Just ignore them. I do."

Rachel laughed, "You really don't get it, do you, Danny?"

"Get what?" Danny asked confused.

"They're not trying to tease you, Danny. They're just declaring that you haven't crossed the equator by sea yet," Rachel said smiling.

"Oh. And I supposed you have?" he replied sarcastically.

"I have," she responded.

"When?" he was surprised.

"When I was fifteen, my father got a job in Sidney and he was afraid to fly, so we took a freighter from England to Sidney. We crossed at the Prime Meridian. Which makes me a Royal Diamond Shellback," she proudly informed everyone within hearing range

"In America we say Emerald Shellback," the admiral informed her.

"Oh well, either way, I'm not going through that again. But I would still love to participate."

"I'll see what I can do," the admiral said.

* * *

><p>"I have called this meeting to let you all know that we do have some civilian guests aboard. They will be participating in Wog Day and Crossing the Line. However, one of these civilians is an eight year old girl. Please don't be too rough on her, but make her feel like she is part of the festivities," the captain said to the group of crew before him.<p>

"LCDR McGarrett and his team of SEALs and LT Rollins will try to keep her by them, but if she should get away from them, go easier on her than you do the others. Wogs, don't think that just because she is here and participating means that you will have it easy.

"Although wogs are widely accepted as slimy, unworthy sea creatures, they will be treated respectfully within the following

guidelines: There will be no wog revolts; such activities will be interfering with the safety of the ceremony. There will be no striking of wogs or Shellbacks, physical restraints or any touching other than to ensure the safety of the participants. There will be no shaving, haircuts or any other activities considered hazing. Shellback "sheriffs" are responsible for safety during events. Their regulatory decisions and orders are final.

"When events are complete, Neptunus Rex and his royal court will greet all Sailors aboard as trusty Shellbacks, upholders of one the Navy's oldest legacies."

While the USS Enterprise had crossed the line on its way to their destination, they had picked up a few deployed service men on their way back home. The new crew members were wogs and needed to become shellbacks. In all there was a total of 1,000 service men and women, 3 adult civilians, and one child that were making the transition. The shellbacks were looking forward to this.

Three of the six SEALs had already crossed the line while going to or coming back from a mission. Steve, Aaron, and Paul were all shellbacks. James, Adrian, and Dane would be going through the ceremony as wogs along with Chin, Kono, Danny, and Grace. Rachel would be participating as a Shellback. Even though Steve was a Lieutenant Commander and had crossed the line before, there were some other senior sailors aboard that had also crossed the line before. So, the role of King Neptune would go to one of those senior sailors. One who had crossed the line back in the 1980's.

Tonight there was a talent show for the shellbacks that would be put on by the wogs, in which LCDR James, LT Adrian, and LCDR Dane, Chin, and Kono were going to sing a song while Danny and Grace dance to it. This was Grace's idea and they were trying to figure out what song to sing/dance to.

"I wana dance for the talent show, Daddy," Grace was excited.

"Ok. So, Grace dances and we what just stand around and watch?" Danny asked.

"Well, we could sing the song that she dances to," James suggested.

"I can't sing," Danny said.

"Daddy, you can dance with me," Grace smiled.

Chin interjected, "I could be backup, but no solos."

"Same here. I don't sing solos," Kono said.

"Oh come on, a beauty like you and you don't want a solo?" Adrian asked.

"Surfing's my thing, not singing in front of an audience." Kono was flattered but not going to give in.

"Really, bro. None of our family are singers," Chin-Ho said.

"Ok, now that we got that settled, What song?"

"Oh, I know the perfect song!" Kono said as she pulled out her laptop. She went to her music files and played a song called Cinderella by Steven Curtis Chapin.

"No, that's more of a wedding song," Dane said. "My wife and her father danced to that song at our wedding. It would be perfect if we had Danny and Grace dance to the first verse, a teen and father and then a bride and a father."

"Well Kono could be the bride and Chin since you're her cousin you could fill in for the father," Adrain said. "but we don't have anyone to dance the prom verse.

"OK there goes that song," Dane said.

"Ok, how about 'Butterfly Kisses'?" James asked.

"Same problem. It's about the little girl growing up."

"Ok how about this song?" Kono asked as she clicked on 'Daddy's Little Girl' by Dean Martin.

_You're the end of the rainbow, my pot of gold  
>You're daddy's little girl to have and hold<br>A precious gem is what you are  
>You're mommy's bright and shining star<em>

You're the spirit of Christmas, my star on the tree  
>You're the Easter bunny to mommy and me<br>You're sugar you're spice, you're everything nice  
>And you're daddy's little girl<p>

"I really like that!" Danny said.

"That's perfect!" Dane agreed.

"Daddy, I wanna be Cinderella," Grace pleaded.

"Ok how about this. James sings the first verse of Cinderella, and Adrian and I sing Daddy's Little Girl, with you two as backup," Dane suggested.

"Oh wait, let me see something here," Kono said as she clicked on a few things. She then merged the two songs together. The first verse and chorus to Cinderella was first with Daddy's Little Girl following it. As they listened to it Grace took Danny by the hand and they started to waltz around the room.

Steve happened to be walking by the room and saw what was going on. "Uh guys, most of the acts are going to be comedy."

"Alright," Danny said. As Steve walked off, Grace looked as if she was going to cry. Danny looked at his team mates and asked, "Are we trying to win this thing? Or are we just having fun?"

"Just having fun. Let one of the Enterprise main crew win it. They deserve it more than we do."

"Then we dance, Cinderella," Danny said with a twinkle in his eye that made Grace's face light up.

* * *

><p>"No cussing at Grace. I understand that she will be hearing it around her, but I don't want it directed at her," Rachel demanded.<p>

"That goes with out saying, Rachel," Steve agreed.

"I just wanted to say it, so that it's understood." She wanted to make sure that they understood.

"We got it, Mamma Bear," Aaron said.

"I just can't wait to hear Catherine tomorrow. The girl _*never*_ cusses. I bet she won't say one cuss word tomorrow" laughed Paul.

Steve just smiled. He had heard her at different times say more than a few cuss words, but he wasn't going to say anything.

"Well, I think it's time to get some sleep. Reveille is in exactly 7 hours."

Erica smiled at Catherine, "Are you sleeping in your own rack?"

"No, Kono, Grace, and Rachel are bunking with you. I'm going to be in the Admiral's quarters," explained Catherine.

"Commander, are you bunking with the Admiral as well?" Erica smirked.

"Uh. Officially? No. Unofficially? Yes." Steve was slightly embarrassed because he knew that this was just about the only rule he broke. Unless it became a problem on the job with respect, following and issuing orders, or a woman getting pregnant, some officers turned a blind eye to this particular rule of no sex while on deployment.

As the boys went to their bunks, Catherine started off toward her father's cabin. Steve pulled Erica aside, "Erica, we haven't had a chance to talk. How is she doing?"

"She's doing good," Erica responded.

"She's sleeping alright?" Steve asked with concern.

"For the most part. She does have a bad night every once and a while, though," Erica whispered.

"At least it's getting better," Steve was comforted a little. He didn't like the fact that he couldn't be there for her. He knew it was illogical. Two months before his father was killed, they got a lead in the Hess case. He wanted to stay aboard the Enterprise and be there for her, but duty came first. He had to follow his orders. The next time he saw her was at his father's funeral. Tracking down his father's killers and heading up the Five-0 task force left him with little time for her. He felt guilty, he wanted to be there, to comfort her, but duty and service took priority.

"With what she went through, Steve, it's as good as it's going to get. She will always have nightmares once and while. And she knows how to deal with them. She's fine," Erin reassured him.

* * *

><p>All of the talent show acts were comedy, except for the Special Opps department, which was a sentimental dance between father and daughter. Every one loved the dance and songs, but first place went to the airmen. Since they posted the results online on the Enterprise's website, they didn't even mention the Special Opps department. As per usual requirements, whenever the SEALs were aboard, no one could say that they were there. And since half of the special opps department were civilians hiding from a criminal, they didn't say anything about the dance. Nor was it recorded by any personnel aboard the Enterprise. However, Rachel did record it on her phone for personal use. She knew better than to post it online anywhere, but as a mother, she wanted to have this dance recorded for Grace when she got older. <em>*This will be perfect to play at Grace's wedding when she gets married. We can cut down the sound and play this as she dances with Danny.*<em> She also took some pictures for the family scrapbook. Rachel was always good at thinking about these things.

The sailors loved Danny and Grace's dance so much that they gave them Honorable Mention. The Admiral made sure that they all knew that this act was not to be mentioned in any correspondence either private or public. So when the article in the newsletter that was posted on the website, was published, only the sailors who were at the talent show knew anything about a Father/Daughter dance or that Honorable Mention was given out. The article only listed first, second, and third place.

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><p>The next day started really early. The shellbacks woke up the wogs at 3:30 am. They had them stand out in the passageway. Each of the wogs had a t-shirt that they were to wear. They had to wear their clothes inside out and backwards. Grace's t-shirt said, "Princess Wog" and had a crown painted on it. Rachel of course was taking pictures of her man and their daughter for the scrapbook. Grace stood next to Danny as straight and tall as she could. She was the perfect little sailor.<p>

Each division went through the orientation separately. Special Opps went with the Intelligence Department. The medics went first. Then there were a couple of departments that went before the Intelligence Department was allowed to go.

As they were waiting, one of the Shellback Officers told all the wogs the rules and limitations. They also knew that the SEALs and Five-0 might receive a little harsher verbal treatment. Steve and Rachel had explained to Grace that everything that she heard and was told today during this was all in fun and playing around. No one really means the mean things that will be said. She felt ready.

Once they started going through the obstacle course of crawling through green slime, a week's worth of garbage, swimming through a life raft of chocolate pudding with hotdogs floating in it, and climbing a lard coated rope up to ring a bell (which Steve made no secret of picking Grace up and hoisting her up the rope and letting her ring the bell), the wogs stood in formation. Steve was in front of Grace, Rachel was in front of Danny, and the other SEALs and Five-0 team had their teammates in front of them. Each of them getting yelled at and called names. When Steve called Grace a filthy, dirty pollywog, she looked him in the eye and said "I know you are, but what am I?"

Every one who heard that cracked up laughing and Steve couldn't help the smile and he impulsively gave her a kiss on the cheek.

After their "scolding" King Neptune and his court, entered on a makeshift stage. All of the pollywogs were found guilty of being a pollywog. Their punishment was to be dunked in a life raft filled with sea water. When they were allowed to come up, King Neptune asked, "What are you?" Everyone replied, "A filthy dirty pollywog," and they were sent to the back of the line. When it was Grace's turn, she replied, "A trusty Shellback, Sir!"

"Well what are you doing in there, Princess Shellback?" King Neptune asked.

Everyone after her replied the same way that she did, and was greeted as a trusty shellback.

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><p>After the ceremony, the messy shellbacks were allowed to go change into some clean clothes while the seasoned shellbacks got the flight deck ready for a "steal deck picnic". There was a band that was made up of five crew members that provided a wide range of music genres. There was also a barbecue and all sailors got two beers. Of course since Grace was underage, she didn't get any beer and Rachel gave one of her beers to Danny and one to Steve.<p>

The captain and admiral also allowed some games to be played. They were mostly the bean-bag toss games you might find at a fair, but the sailors had fun. The admiral allowed the Enterprise to anchor for a couple of hours, so that the sailors could go swimming on the Equator. The SEALs had set up the perimeter with ropes and buoys so no one would go too far out and get lost.

Grace wanted to go swimming too, but the only way to get into the water was to jump from the deck. She got ready to jump and then looked and realized how far down it was and decided it better just stay on board. She knew that Uncle Steve wouldn't let anything happen to her, but she was afraid that she would hit something on the way down. Besides, everyone said not even the tallest person in the world could reach bottom. But she had fun on the flight deck with the games. When the band started singing songs that she liked, she started to dance and it wasn't long before there were others around her dancing as well.

Catherine saw Steve talking with the rest of SEAL team and she walked up to him. When the others saw her coming, they stopped talking and Steve turned around. "Hey, sailor, wanna dance?"

Steve smiled at her and looked back at his men. Dane said, "Go on, Commander. We got it covered."

"Thanks," Steve replied. He then took Catherine's hand and she led them to where the others were dancing. It happened to be a slow song.

After an hour or so, Adrian came up to Steve and whispered, "Everything's ready."

Steve nodded that he had heard him. Catherine didn't pay Adrian any attention as she enjoyed dancing with Steve. After the band finished that song, they stopped for a break. Steve led Catherine to the make shift stage and walked up to the microphone. He had started planning this a year ago. But then his father was murdered, he transferred to the reserves, and started Five-0. Then, he was framed for the murder of the governor. The timing really wasn't right at this point in time, but he had waited long enough and the admiral did encourage him to go ahead and do this. Last year, he did this in private. This year he would do this in front of everyone to let her know he was serious. He thought that she had told him to ask in a year, not because she wasn't ready, but because she thought that _he_ wasn't ready. Well, that's what the guys said anyway and he was going to show her just how ready he was. Just incase they were right. "Catherine, I know I don't say it much, but I love you. A year ago today I asked you something and you told me to wait a year and ask you again. When you answered that way, I had planned the year out so differently than the way that it turned out. There are people that were in our lives then that are no longer in our lives and there are new people in our lives. Our new friends don't know about our history together, not together, and then together again. They don't know or don't realize just how much you mean to me, because we have been separated more than usual. When I met you at the Academy, we both were studying intelligence and we became close friends. We have been through some really tough times together. Some of which, I know I couldn't have gotten through with out you right there. Even if we were unable to be in the same place, we were together in thought.

"I spent five years in intelligence with you. And not always on the same base or ship. But, we always managed to see each other whenever one of us or both of us had leave.

"Then our relationship started to change. I had been promoted and was your superior, and I knew that if we continued on the path we were going, it would cause trouble for the both us. So, I applied to become a SEAL. That way our chain of commands would be different and we could be together like we both wanted.

"Then for some reason that I still don't know, you broke up with me. I was confused. I knew that you still loved me. Your every look and action told me so and you never denied it. You just kept saying that it was best if we weren't together and we just had to remain friends. I loved you so much that the thought of you not in my life at all, was just too much to bear. So, I agreed to your terms.

"We both saw other people for a bit, but it was never the same. And then a tragedy happened and you needed me and those lines of friendship and lovers blurred. I hate what happened and I wish it never happened, but it did bring us back to each other.

"This past year has been really hard for me and even though we haven't been able to see each other as often as we have in the past, you have been there for me. And I couldn't have gotten through it without you. This past year has made me realize just how much I love you and how much I need you." Steve let go of one of Catherine's hands and reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black velvet box. When he opened it up, a picture of the contents was displayed on a screen behind the stage. Catherine didn't see the picture; she was speechless looking at the real thing. Steve heard Dane whistle sharply and he glanced over at him about to be really upset with him, when he noticed that Dane was motioning for him to get down on one knee. How could he have forgotten that part? This had to be perfect for her. So he knelt down on one and continued, "Catherine Aileen Rollins, will you marry me?"

She looked into his eyes and then out to the crowd. When she saw her father nodding his head, she replied, "Yes." She wanted to say more, but that was all that would come out.

The ring was white gold, with a ruby on one side, a diamond in the middle, and a sapphire on the other side. On the inside band it was engraved, "Cat, my best friend, rock and heart, Love Steve."

When Catherine could speak, she said, "Let's get married right now. I should have never told you to wait a year."

Steve smiled, "If you really want to, we can, but what about Angel, Sid, and the Besses? Don't you want them at your wedding?"

"Oh right. I wasn't thinking about them. They would be disappointed if they weren't there when I got married. And Mary Ann deserves to be there too."

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><p><em>Author's Note: I know, I know, leaving it there, but it seems like a good stopping point. Besides, I'm sure you can imagine the rest. ;-) I know, I know, it's unheard of for me to post two chapters in one day. But here I am doing it. Not sure why. I'm still working on Chapter 4. I need to type up several pages and then get it to a stopping point and then get it to <em>Ircam<em> to beta for me. So, it might be a while before I get Chapter 4 up. Please bear with me. Thanks for the reviews. :-)  
><em>


	4. Chapter 4 Wedding Plans

**Hou Ho'omaka 'ana/New Beginnings**

**By: MacKenzie Creations**

Beta: Thanks Ircam for the beta! You're a sweetheart and I've this for almost a year now from her. I don't know why I didn't post it. I thought I did. Anyway, here it is now.

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><p><strong>Chapter 4 Wedding Plans<strong>

Once they got back to the Admiral's cabin, Steve said, "We need to talk."

"I know what you're going to say, Steve. And I have it figured out. My contract is up for renewal next month. I just won't renew." Catherine had made up her mind.

"You don't have to that, Katie." The Admiral responded.

Steve and Catherine looked at the admiral. "What do you mean?" Catherine asked.

"When it was suggested that you would be the best one to help with Five-0, I told my CO about your relationship and that Steve had already asked me for your hand. He said that since you will be working in a civilian aspect and as long as you are engaged before you report for duty at Pearl, then he would make an exception."

"So, I can renew my contract with the Navy?" Catherine asked in shock.

"If you want to? You are up for promotion," he reminded her.

Catherine smiled and gave her father a hug, "Thank you, Daddy."

"I just want you to be happy, Katie," the Admiral said. "I just don't understand why you waited a year."

Catherine looked down at the floor and softly said, "Because the doctor said not to make any life changing decisions for at least a year. And she mentioned getting engaged and marriage. I've regretted not accepting every day. Especially since now Steve's father can't be there."

"Hey, don't worry about that. It takes time to plan a wedding. And he was killed just a couple of months later. It was probably best waiting a year anyway, Cat," Steve said as he pulled her into his arms.

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><p>Catherine was sitting in front of the Admiral's laptop with his phone sitting beside her. When Steve and the Admiral saw her, she looked discouraged and frustrated.<p>

"What's wrong?" Steve asked.

"Well, the chapel at the Academy is booked for year and so is every other chapel and church I can think of for us to get married in. I've already wasted a year. I don't want to waste another one but we might have to."

"Katie where does your dream wedding take place?"

"Honestly?" When her father and her fiancé nodded she said, "Well, it's always been a toss-up between the Academy Chapel and the house we always wanted in Hawaii."

"Do you want it at the house?" The Admiral asked.

"Like there's really enough room at the house for all of the military that it's protocol to invite." She said sarcastically.

The Admiral smiled, "There's room, Katie. First, not all of them will show up. And second, I like to hold the Military Balls for the base at the house. We can use the ballroom for the reception."

"And the beach for a sunset ceremony. We could also have tents outside with different dancing music and buffets. Steve, what do you think?" Catherine asked.

"Oh no this is something that you girls plan from the time you're five years old. I don't want to mess it up. Just tell me what where, when, and what to wear and I'll be there."

"Steve, this is your wedding, too. I don't want you to hate it."

"I won't hate it. I promise. I want you to have the wedding of your dreams."

"Daddy, are you sure? I mean besides the guests Steve wants to invite, we have all of your associates, plus the Intelligence aboard ship."

The Admiral smiled and interrupted her, "Katie, you can invite every single person that three of us know and I would still be honored to host your wedding at the house." The smile on his daughter's face and the sparkle in her eyes were payment enough for him. "So, do you have a date in mind?

"I would like to get married as soon as we can arrange it."

"Well, it may take some time to get the decorations you want and the invitations. What about in September?"

"We can do that. Full formal, white tie, Military Wedding with Dress Blues and the sword arch."

Steve and the Admiral looked at each other and smiled, "You got it," the Admiral said.

"Do you know who you want to for the sword arch?" Steve asked.

"Well that would depend on you – who you choose for ushers and groomsmen. I know that Erica will be a part of it and some of my bridesmaids.

"Oh speaking of bridesmaids. I know that I don't know Mary that well, but she is your sister and I want to include her in the wedding. Do you think she will object to being a bridesmaid?"

"I know that the 5-0 team is like family to you, so I want Kono and Rachel as bridesmaids as well. And Gracie can be the flower girl. And Rhonda's little boy, Ryder, can be the ring barrier."

Steve was touched that she wanted to include his friends and family in the wedding. "Cat, whoever you want is fine with me." He gave her a chaste kiss on the cheek.

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><p>"Kono, Rachel, I would like to know if you would like to be bridesmaids and can Grace be my flower girl?" Catherine asked.<p>

Kono smiled, "I'd love to be a bridesmaid!"

Rachel hesitantly replied, "If Grace wants to be the flower girl, she can. But, I would rather be behind the scenes."

An idea came to the bride-to-be, "Have you ever planned a Whit Tie Military Wedding before?"

"As matter of fact, I have. I was a wedding coordinator before Grace was born. I had quite a few military couples as clients," Rachel smiled.

"Can you help me plan this thing?"

"I would love to, Catherine! Do you have a date yet?"

"Last weekend in September."

"Not much time, but we can do it."

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><p>Catherine walked into her father's cabin and saw Danny and Steve talking with Grace on Steve's lap. "Hey, Grace, I was just looking for you." Grace looked up at Catherine and she continued, "You know that your Uncle Steve and I are getting married, right?"<p>

"Yes, they were just talking about the wedding."

"Well, how would you like to be the flower girl?"

Grace's face lit up, "you really want me to be the flower girl?"

"Yes. You're important to Steve so that makes you important to me."

"I would love to be a flower girl." Grace was very excited.

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><p>Danny and Grace left Steve and Catherine alone. Steve said, "Danny said that Rachel would probably want to help plan the wedding rather than be a bridesmaid."<p>

"Yeah, that's what she said. It's really perfect. If she can get all the decorations, tents, invitations, caterers, and everything thing else that we need before we even get back to Hawaii, it would be a huge help."

"Great."

"Have you talked with Mary Ann?"

"Not yet, why?"

"Well, I was going to ask her to be a bridesmaid. Don't you think that she would want to hear it from you first?"

"Well Mary and I don't…," Steve trailed off as he saw the look on Catherine's face and knew that she knew he was trying to get out of calling her. "I'll call her."

"Great. I'll call Angel and Sid as soon as you're finished talking to Mary."

"What about the Besses?"

Catherine stood there uncomfortably, "I'll tell them in person. I think they will appreciate that better."

_Now who's trying to get out of making a phone call? _Steve thought as he proceeded to call his sister.

Immediately after hearing Steve's voice she announced, "Steve, I'm fine. No trouble at all and your babysitter is here."

"Good. I'm glad that you're safe. But I'm calling to tell you that Catherine and I are getting married and she wants you to be a bridesmaid."

Mary was stunned. "Wow. Married, huh?"

"When?"

"September 30th."

"Where?"

"Her father's house on the base at Pearl."

"And you want me to be in the wedding?"

"You're my sister, of course I want you to be a part of my wedding."

"Then sure. Ok. I'll do whatever I can to help."

"Thanks, Mar."

"Oh, Steve? Congratulations."

"Thanks."

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><p>Catherine called her sister, Angel. She answered as she always did, "When are you and Steve getting married?"<p>

Instead of ignoring the question, like usual, Catherine answered, "September 30th."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. He asked and I said yes."

"You really are serious. You and Steve are finally getting married?!"

Catherine laughed, "Yes. Why are you so surprised? You ask me that every time I call."

"You've never answered me before. So, September 30th?"

"Yeah. I'm calling to ask you to be my Maid of Honor."

"Of course I'll be your Maid of Honor! Anything you need me to do, just ask."

"Well, I have a wedding coordinator, but I do need you to see about finding a skirt and blouse set for non-military bridesmaids. I want the blouses to be gold, and the skirts to be Navy. A Navy waist jacket a well. The skirts need to be ankle length. It's full Military formal."

"You got it, sis!" I know, I'll make them! How many you need?"

"Well, right now, it's just you and Steve's sister that will need them."

"Ok. I have enough time to make them. I just need Steve's sister's measurements."

"Thank you, Angel. We'll get you her measurements when we get back to Hawaii."

"So, where's the wedding?"

"The Hawaii House."

"So what did Mammie and Papa say?"

"I haven't told them yet," Catherine sighed.

"If I were you, I'd call them. That way, if they start any crap you can hang up on them."

"Well, I'll be coming into port soon. I'll tell them when I call them from the house to let them know I'm transferring to Pearl."

"You haven't told them that either? Girl, when was the last time you talked to them?"

"Umm, it's been," Catherine had to think hard about it. "Wow, it's been over a year. I haven't talked with them since I transferred to the Saratoga and back to the Enterprise."

"Why?"

"Why do you think?" Catherine sighed. "I guess I just needed some time away from them."

"I can't pretend to understand what all you've been through this past year, but surely, Mammie and Papa would have helped you."

"Angel, they never believed me over _**him**_ and I just couldn't take their judgmental attitude this past year."

"I know. I'm sorry I brought it up. I guess I just didn't realize how much they judge you for not going out with _**their**_ choice."

"It's alright. I need to speak with Sid. Steve wants him to be a groomsman.

"Sure, sis, whatever you and Steve need."

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><p>AN: FYI, I personally don't think that the characters on the show know only those that we have met on the show. Steve and Catherine both have Navy friends that they are very close to in my world. We may or may not meet their friends, brothers and sisters in arms in this story. I do think that we will meet some of them, and most definitely not all of them. I had a list of close friends for Catherine for her bridesmaids, however, I have seemed to have lost that list. Not sure if I will find them, so just know that Catherine had about 8 bridesmaids and Steve had the same number groomsmen. This is going to be a big wedding. I'm letting you know this so that when the time comes, you will know that I may not name the whole wedding party. For non-military bridesmaids, their dresses are the same make as the white tie formal dresses for Navy service women. Kono will be in police white tie formal dress. Danny and Chin are also in Police white tie formal dress and the rest of Steve's groomsmen and ushers will be in white tie formal Navy dress blues. During my research, I found out that in Hawaii they don't wear Dress Blues much. And it's only after Oct to Easter that black tie would be Dress Blues. I don't want to wait that long for the wedding and white tie is always Dress Blues and I want Steve in Dress Blues. For those that don't know (I didn't know until I did my research), White Tie is the most formal event there is. I thought that Black Tie was the most formal, but nope, it's White Tie. And for all the "young'uns" that read this a Military Ball is a dance. Think Prom for the Military Service men and women. I was afraid that someone wouldn't know what I was talking about when I just said ball, so I put Military in front of it, but normally when referring to this event, one just say, "I went to the ball."

I'm working on Chapter 5 now. Not sure how long it will be before I post it.


	5. Chapter 5 Moving

**Hou Ho'omaka 'ana/New Beginnings**

**by: MacKenzie Creations**

**BETA: **_**Thanks to JustLeni for the beta, discussion, help, and your friendship!**_

**A/N: **_To answer a question I had in a review: Why are the bridesmaids wearing skirts and blouses and not dresses like in a regular wedding? Catherine wants all military personnel (except for herself) in Military White Tie Uniform and that is the White Tie Uniform for Naval Female Officers. (Catherine will be in a white wedding dress. She has chosen the white-tie formal wedding because she wants to the only one in all white and with her father being an Admiral, military dress will be expected. US Navy wears Dress Whites until October and Dress blues until March or April and if I'm not mistaken Dress Whites can be worn year around in Hawaii. White Tie would be only way to get them in Dress Blues in Hawaii.) The non-military personnel will be in gold blouses instead of white and other minor differences so that all the bridesmaids will be comparable. If you want a detailed description and picture of the Navy Officer (women) White Tie Uniform, please email me at my gmail com account (LadyMacKenzie goes before gmail) and I will email you a word document with the information. The word doc. will also have where I got the information from. However, this site will not allow me to post the link._

_Also, in this chapter I mention a "Tiger Cruise". I have looked this up and this is something that sometimes happens. I actually got this out of a newsletter sent out by the USS Enterprise. The Tiger Cruise is where service members can invite family and friends ages 8 and up to come see how life is when they are deployed. __I think__, it's usually the last leg of a deployment – about 3-4 days. And no significant others (boy/girlfriend, fiancé/fiancée or spouse) are allowed. For some reason they won't let significant others on the Tiger Cruises. If you wish to know more about Tiger Cruise, you can Google "US Navy Tiger Cruise". The only reason it was mentioned in this chapter is because it's the reason that they docked in Florida._

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**Chapter 5 Moving**

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By the time the Enterprise had made it to the Florida coast, the Five-0 team knew how to use the equipment that would be installed into their headquarters. They had also been given access to any Intelligence personnel onboard the ship. The downside was they had not located Wo-Fat yet.

When the Enterprise docked in Florida for the "Tiger Cruise", the Five-0 team got off the ship and boarded a flight to Norfolk, VA so that Erica and Catherine could pack their belongings.

They had expected to come home to an empty house; however, Catherine and Erica were surprised to find her roommate, Candace, there. Catherine and Erica entered the house and had discovered her in the front room with a box in her hands. "Hey, guys. I wasn't expecting the Enterprise to be back for a couple more days."

"Yeah, well, it won't be. We are early because we are being transferred to Pearl," Catherine answered.

"All of you?" she asked as she looked around the group of people standing before her. That is when she spotted Steve.

"Yeah," Catherine answered with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Steve…," Candace started.

Steve interrupted her. "I'll get started packing Cat's room. I think I know what she wants to pack."

To help ease the awkwardness, Catherine immediately asked, "So, Candy, what's in the box?"

"Well, this is your foster parents' summer home and I knew that you wouldn't be coming back. I mean after what happened…. Anyway, I've been looking for a place since you were on the Saratoga. Sam and I found a great place."

Catherine and Erica were both surprised. "Oh. You two have gotten that serious?"

Candy smiled, "Yeah, we have. We've rented an apartment together right off base. The lease is in my name so if it doesn't work out, Sam can move out. I'll be able to afford the apartment on my own."

"That's great. I'm happy for you." Catherine said. She began to introduce everyone.

Candace continued to put her box in her car and went back inside to finish getting her own personal belongings. She had then helped Catherine and Erica finish with their packing. It didn't take long before the three girls had divided the pictures that included all three of them, and had all their personal belongings in boxes ready to go when the movers got there first thing in the morning.

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"Catherine, should I go talk to Steve? I know he's finished packing up your room already." Candy asked to Catherine's dismay.

"Not now, Candy." Catherine ordered.

Danny's curiosity got the better of him. "What is with you two anyway? I've never seen Steve so…."

"Rude?" Erica suggested when he paused to think of the right word.

"I was going to say, 'hurt', but rude covers it, too." Danny retorted.

Candy and Catherine both sighed simultaneously. Catherine knew that Candy had no problem telling anyone who asked, the whole story, but Catherine wasn't sure if Steve wanted everyone to know. "Let me go ask Steve if it's ok to tell everyone what happened."

When she entered her bedroom, she found all of her personal belongings packed up in boxes and Steve was just lying on the bed.

"The guys are wondering what's up with you and Candy." Catherine stated softly.

Steve sighed, "She can tell them if she wants. But I can't talk about it. It's been nine years. You would think that it wouldn't hurt anymore."

Not knowing what else to say, she asked, "Is there anything I can do right now?"

"Turn back time and change her mind?" Steve replied.

"Darn it! I seemed to have misplaced my Time Machine. Is there any other way I can help?" Catherine replied sarcastically.

He couldn't help but smile, "No. I'll be fine. I just want be by myself right now."

"Alright. I love you." Catherine leaned in and gave him a short peck on the cheek.

"I love you, too." He replied with a remorseful smile.

Catherine went to the living room and whispered to Candy that it was alright to tell everyone what happened, if she wanted to.

Catherine excused herself and returned to the bedroom where Steve was still lying on the bed. She kicked off her shoes and lay down beside him while holding him in her arms.

"I said…" Steve responded to her touch with anger.

Catherine interrupted his rant, "I know you said you want to be alone, But I think this is what you **need **right now."

Steve gave in to her command and the two laid there silently in each other's arms.

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In the living room, Candy told the group what happened. Erica listened closely ready to interrupt at any moment to tell her version of the truth in case Candy didn't them everything.

Candy continued, "Steve and I used to be what you'd call 'friends with benefits'. I got pregnant right before my first deployment on a carrier. According to Navy policy, that would have disqualified me from going on the cruise. So, I scheduled an abortion without telling Steve that I was even pregnant. I didn't want him to worry about it."

She looked at Erica and continued, "He found out that I was pregnant and that I was planning an abortion."

She looked back at the group "He came over and begged me not have the abortion. He offered to marry me. I told him that I didn't want to get married. I wanted to go on the cruise and in order to do that, I couldn't be pregnant. He said that there would be other cruises to go on, that we would never get this child back if I were to go through with it. He then offered to take the child and raise it himself if I didn't want it. He promised that he would never tell the child anything bad about me."

She paused again and continued "I had insisted that wasn't the problem, Navy policy was the problem. I told him that I had an abortion in high school and it was no big deal. I would be fine. He told me that I may fine, but our baby wouldn't be fine. Nothing he said was going to change my mind and I had the abortion. He hasn't spoken to me since. He won't even stay in the same room with me or look at me for more than two seconds, anymore."

She spoke so stoically that everyone in the room just stared at her. "What?" She snarled "It's my body, my choice. He didn't like the choice I made and he's being a big baby about it."

Erica reminded her, "It was Steve's baby, too. You should have taken his feelings into account."

Candy replied defensively "And what, Erica? Say goodbye to my dream of working on a carrier? I wasn't ready to become a mother and Steve wasn't ready to become a father. He's just too blinded to see it. I made the right choice for me. And I'd make it again. I'm just sorry that my choice hurt Steve so much."

Erica had held her tongue on this subject for too long and she was angry. She lost her temper and shouted, "Was it really worth it? Was it worth hurting Steve like that? Going on that cruise and almost getting court-martialed because someone lied about you?"

"Lesson Learned: Don't agree to hold an admitted drug addict's purse for her as she is trying on clothes in the dressing room of a store; even if she says she's been through rehab." Candy snarled.

Erica snapped back, "You didn't answer my question. Was. It. Worth. It?"

Candy just stared at Erica without saying a word, she went to her purse and took out a picture that she took at the Crossing the Line festivities. The picture was of Steve and Grace. She had already given Steve a copy of the picture, but she had kept a copy for herself. "Look at her. She's eight, the same age that your child would have been. Was it worth it?"

"Erica, you and I have had this conversation hundreds of times in the past nine years. It was my legal choice. Steve disagreed with me and hates me now. It's between me and Steve. But Out!" Candy stormed out of the house.

She wasn't aware that Steve and Catherine had gone out the back door and were now outside looking at the stars.

"I don't hate you, Candy." Steve caught her attention.

Candy wiped the tears from her eyes before anyone could see them, "Sure seems like it."

Catherine touched Steve's shoulder and quietly retreated inside to give them privacy. She knew that this was a conversation Steve and Candy needed to have on their own.

He began talking "It's just that every time I see you, I wonder what our child would be like. Would we have had a boy or a girl? What would he/she look like? It just hurts, that's all. I don't know if I'll ever get over that, if I'll ever heal from it."

"I'm happy to know that you don't hate me." She suddenly felt a small sigh of relief.

"Do you ever think about our child?" Steve asked as he approached her slowly.

"You know, I never thought about the abortion I had in high school or the one that I had since then, but for some reason, yeah, I do think about it every once in a while. Wonder how it would have been different. The hardest thing had been the rift between us. You were always a good friend. I know that Catherine and you will be happy together. I always said she was the one you should have been with." Candy smiled.

Steve smiled back, "That you did. Listen, I know that Cat told you about the wedding. But, I wanted you to know that you are invited."

"Thanks, but I don't think I can get off of work." She was happy to have a legitimate excuse.

"Well, if you can, you're welcome to come," Steve insisted.

Candy nodded her head, got into her car, and left.

Catherine had since called and ordered pizza. She and Erica were getting paper plates and drinks for everyone when Steve came back inside.

Steve approached Erica and forcefully commented, "Don't ever do that again. What you did was out of line, Erica. I know you were trying to drive home your pro-life point of view, but you crossed a line. From now on, leave it between me and her. There are times when I wish that you hadn't called me and told me that she was pregnant. Then I wouldn't have known about anything about this," Steve said a little too harshly.

"I really thought that you would be able to change her mind, Steve. I thought you had the right to know what was going on." Erica believed what she was saying.

Steve's feelings were always raw when it came to this situation. He had to force himself to soften his voice, "I know, Erica, and you're right. I did have the right to know. But no one could have changed her mind. I tried everything I could think of. The only thing I didn't do was hog tie her and kidnap her until the baby was born. But that would have been wrong. It's done. It's over with and we need to drop it. Don't bring it up unless she does. Alright? I mean it. She's still Catherine's friend and she's invited to the wedding. I don't want a confrontation at the wedding." He insisted.

"I won't bring it up again," Erica promised.

"Thank you," Catherine said. "Both of you, Thank you, Erica, for cooling the pro-life/pro-choice debate and thank you, Steve for inviting Candy. I know how hard it was for you."

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After the pizza was eaten, everyone had spread out in the living room with sleeping bags, sheets, and pillows. Catherine and Steve had been sitting cuddled up together on the sofa while everyone was talking. When Catherine dozed off, Steve asked for a sheet to put over them and everyone else decided it was time to cut the lights out and go to sleep. It looked like one big slumber party or indoor campout.

The silence was soon interrupted, "What is going on here?!" boomed a familiar deep voice.

Catherine recognized the voice even in her sleep and she startled awake. She would have fallen off the sofa if Steve hadn't had his arms around her holding her close to him.

"Hello to you, too, Mr. Bess," Steve sarcastically said. He also nodded to the woman standing beside the man and the two young siblings behind the couple. The sister was bouncing on her feet while the brother just yawned and rolled his eyes.

"You shut up! Catherine explain this!" the man demanded.

Catherine timidly said, "Erica and I are being transferred to Pearl. Everyone here is helping us pack. That's it."

_Why does she sound like a scared teenager that got caught with her boyfriend in her bedroom? _Danny thought.

"Why are you sleeping with _him_? I don't see a ring on your finger," Mr. Bess interrogated.

Steve grinned as Catherine held up her hand to show off her engagement ring without saying a word.

The couple was shocked into silence and Angel took the opportunity to squeal and run up to hug her older sister to gush over the ring.

When Mr. Bess found his voice he said, "You will not marry _him_! You are going to marry Simon! We have been patient long enough! You're coming home with us." He demanded.

At this everyone stood up. In less than a second the SEALs formed a circle around Catherine. Erica, Catherine's best friend, was inside the circle as a last line of defense, in case the Bess' chose to try to break into the circle, to take Catherine by force. Angel's slow reaction had caused her to get trapped within the circle. Steve, Danny, Chin, and Kono had stood in front of the circle as the first line of defense.

Catherine rolled her eyes. She had expected this because it was something that she would do for a friend as well. She spoke up, "I can handle this."

Everyone looked to Steve who was the CO and when he nodded his head, they fanned out to where they were right behind her, just in case she needed their help. She stepped up and stood beside Steve.

"First of all, you have no say in who I marry. You are not my father. Second of all, by order of the US Navy, I 'm moving to Pearl. You have no say in that either. I am an adult! I can and will marry whom I wish! They only reason you were even my foster parents is because Simon's mother kidnapped us when my mother died, and when my dad called to find out about us, she told him that we all died in the car crash. You were never in the appropriate role to arrange a marriage for me. And by the way, that's not even legal in America anymore. This isn't the Victorian Age anymore. I choose Steve and I will marry him." Catherine took a deep breath and pressed on, "Now, Papa, I would like for you and Mammie to sing with Dane and his wife at our wedding, but if you can't support me and Steve in this decision don't even bother to show up."

"I betrothed you to Simeon when you were thirteen!" he demanded.

"And I just reminded you that wasn't even legal! You forced me to date Simon all throughout high school and he was abusive then and he was a cheat! I refuse to even see him now that I have a choice in the matter. The abuse got so bad that I now have a restraining order against him because he won't leave me alone! Now are you going to be supportive?" She asked.

"Simon was never abusive! You have always lied about that." He insisted.

Before Steve could say anything, Catherine said, "You know what? Just forget it. You love Simon so much, marry him yourself! Don't worry about me ever again! You don't believe me. You don't support my choices. Just stay out of my life from now on. Candy moved out and Erica and I will be gone from this house by noon tomorrow." Catherine stormed off to her room and slammed the door.

Erica followed her. She knew that Catherine would need a friend right now and she also knew that Steve had something to tell the Besses.

Steve spoke firmly "If you try to force her to go back with you, I will have you arrested for kidnapping a Naval Officer. If Cat happens to change her mind about marrying, then that's her choice. Yes, I would be heartbroken, but I would never try to force her to do something that she didn't want to do. She is thirty years old and no longer a ward of the state. You have no authority over her."

"You didn't even ask me for permission!" Mr. Bess snarled.

"You just don't get it, do you, Brent? You're not the one I had to ask." Steve couldn't believe his audacity.

"I bet you didn't even try to ask the Admiral for permission. You have no respect for authority." Brent retorted condescendingly.

All Navy and police personnel were very tense and ready for a fight, whether a verbal fight or physical fight. They were just waiting for Steve's orders.

For the first time that night, Mrs. Bess spoke up. "Brent didn't give you permission to call him by his first name. You are to call us Mr. and Mrs. Bess until we say different."

Steve turned to her and said, "Respect is earned. And the way that you have you treated Cat has lost you my respect, Brenda and Brent! Stop living in the Middle Ages and be respectful of all people and I might respect you again, but no promises. And God help you if you ever call Cat a liar again!" Steve went back to Catherine's room.

As Steve walked back to his fiancée's bedroom, he heard Brenda yell out, "You can't go back there. You're not married yet!"

Steve just ignored her and went anyway. Their friends kept them from following him by physically blocking them from getting to Catherine's room.

Steve and Catherine's teammates rolled their eyes and ignored the Besses as they went back to their sleeping arrangements.

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Erica left when Steve came back into the room. Catherine sat up on the bed and wiped her eyes, "Why don't they believe me?"

"I don't know. But, I believe you and if you don't want Simon anywhere around, he won't be allowed around you." Steve whispered to her lovingly.

"I don't want him around at all," she said as she grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around herself.

"He won't be," Steve assured her as he noticed her behavior. They both lay down as Steve held her. Steve had noticed that Catherine had opened her bedroom window. He sensed that she had done this to justify wrapping the blanket around her, but the cool air wasn't what she needed. His arms around her, is what she needed.

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The Besses looked around and noticed that the two girls were on one side of the living room and the men were on the other with the sofa separating them. They still didn't trust them and ordered Angel to Candy's old room and Sid to Erica's room since Erica was sleeping in the living room. Mr. and Mrs. Bess retired to the library where there was a sofa with a pull out bed.

The house was quiet and still.

Hours had passed when a figure crawled through Catherine's bedroom window. He saw Steve and Catherine asleep in the bed. With a raise of a knife and on the down swing, he aimed for Steve's heart. As Catherine turned over in her sleep, her hand slipped over Steve's heart and the knife went through her hand. Her scream caused Steve to wake suddenly and by pure reflex, he grabbed the wrist of the intruder and rolled out of the bed. During the fight the intruder had grabbed Steve's weapon, which was on the bedside table, and hurriedly escaped out of the same window.

Steve worriedly looked around the room to find Catherine applying first aid to the back of her hand. "How bad is it?" He asked with concern.

"Not bad. It's not too deep. I wasn't the target. He wanted to kill you." She was sure.

Steve nodded in agreement.

Suddenly the door burst open as Danny and the others came into the room. "I'm going after him."

"Steve, it's Simon and right now he is capable of anything." Catherine reminded

"I know." Steve replied as he prepared to leave.

Danny spoke up, "What happened?"

"Take care of her," Steve said. When Steve saw that his teammates were ready to go with him, he said, "I need you all here. Help Cat." He took Dane's weapon and disappeared out of the window.

Erica went to call 911 and Dane asked, "How did Simon even know that you were here? You're not scheduled to be back for another couple of days."

"I don't know." Catherine was clearly shaken.

"Papa and Mammie must've called him. He still lives here in Norfolk," Angel said.

A voice replied from the hallway, "Yes, we did call him and let him know what was going on. But it wasn't Simon that did this," Mr. Bess said as she entered the room.

"Steve and Catherine saw him," Erica said.

"It was dark, they were mistaken. Simon couldn't do this. He doesn't have it in him." He was insistent.

Kono started to say something when Erica raised her hand to stop her. "Forget it, don't waste your breath. They live in denial about their precious Simon. You would think that he was their son and not a friend's son. It doesn't matter if they were presented with video proof they wouldn't believe that Simon would be capable of anything bad."

Erica then looked at the wound on Catherine's hand, "You really should go to the hospital and get this looked at."

"I'm **fine**. There is no need for a hospital." Catherine insisted.

"That's going to need stitches." She took a closer look

"One of the SEALs can do it. I don't need a hospital." Catherine pulled her hand back.

Erica softly said as she carefully took back Catherine's hand in hers, "Catherine, Steve's the only one who can stitch up a stab wound like that and I hate to say it, you're probably going to need x-rays as well – just to make sure it didn't fracture or chip a bone."

"**I'm. Not. Going. To. A. Freakin'. Hospital!**" She shouted.

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As Steve was searching for Simon, the police caught up to him and they continued the search together. Eventually they found Simon hiding in an alley.

Steve and the county sheriff's policemen blocked the only way out of the alley. Feeling trapped, Simon pointed the gun at Steve and there was a stand off.

"She's mine! You will not get her! I told her to break up with you and she did! We've been engaged since we were thirteen!" he shouted.

"Simon, put the gun the down," Steve asked carefully.

"I've been in love with her since the first day I met her! Her father said I could marry her! He never let her date anyone else! Then you come along. You steal her from me and I'm not taking it anymore! Everyone who is against me marrying her is dead!" he was irate and clearly unbalanced.

"Then you will have to kill Catherine as well! She doesn't want to marry you!" Steve shouted.

"She doesn't have a choice! Biblically she's mine!" Simon retorted.

"God doesn't want her in a forced marriage. Her real father doesn't approve and Biblically that's what matters. Your betrothal is illegal in all ways. She doesn't want to marry you!" Steve was trying to end this peacefully. He wanted Simon to understand.

The police demanded that Simon put down his gun. But, he refused. The officer that was standing beside Steve saw Simon's finger tighten around the trigger. The officer shot Simon's hand, but not before Simon was able to get a shot in. Simon's shot had grazed Steve's arm.

While Simon was holding his hand and screaming in pain, the police surrounded him and cuffed him.

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Steve arrived back to the house to find paramedics attempting to get Catherine to go to the hospital.

Catherine pleaded with Steve, "Steve, tell them that you can stitch me up. I don't have to go to the hospital."

Steve looked at the paramedics and said, "I'll take her myself." When Catherine looked at him like he had betrayed her, he told her, "I'll take you to Portsmouth and I won't leave your side. I promise."

"Steve…." She began to argue, when he interrupted her

"I know you don't like hospitals, but this is necessary. This isn't the battle field and a doctor can fix this up better than I can. I will be by your side the whole time. I promise. I'll go through a court martial before I leave your side while we're there." He whispered in her ear lovingly.

"I don't want to go." She was scared.

"Get in the car, Lieutenant. That's an order." He demanded with a smile.

Catherine didn't like the order, but she obeyed without a word.

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On the way to the hospital, Catherine stared out of the window as Steve drove her car. "How's the pain?" He asked.

Catherine didn't answer him and just kept staring out of the window.

He glanced at her while he drove "Catherine, I promise you everything will be ok. I'll be with you the whole time."

Catherine continued to give him the silent treatment. She saw Steve's actions as a betrayal, because he knew that she was afraid of hospitals. He also knew why. She didn't understand why he was doing this to her.

Steve didn't know what to do. He understood why she was upset, but he felt that this was necessary for her well-being. He would have to deal with her later. He loved her and only wanted what was best for her. She would have to understand this eventually.

Once they got to the hospital, Steve had to practically carry her inside. "I can't do this, Steve. Just take me home. Please." She pleaded desperately.

Steve spotted a good friend of theirs and called out to her, "Tessa, Cat needs help now."

Tessa turned in surprised and rushed over to the couple. She immediately assessed the wound on Catherine's hand and also the wound on Steve's upper arm as Steve told her what happened. "Both of you need stitches. And I want x-rays on that hand. I want to make sure that there are no internal injuries on your hand, Catherine."

"Please, can't I just go home?" she continued to insist.

"If you stay calm, you'll get to go home soon. I promise." She gave Catherine and Steve shots to numb the areas that needed to be stitched up. While they were waiting for the medicine to take effect, they got x-rays of Catherine's hand. Tessa stitched up Catherine while another doctor stitched up Steve. The x-rays came back and everything was fine and Tessa quickly discharged Catherine and Steve.

"See, everything is fine," Steve said as he opened the passenger door.

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_A/N: I'm starting to work on Chapter 6. Not sure when it will be done. I wanted to get this up before Friday's episode aired. Please review, thanks._


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